What is it about Hot Wheels VW collectors? They are bonkers. Frenzied. Passionate. Dedicated. Obsessive. Demanding.
And they are going to go nuts for the T2 Pickup.
Every few years Hot Wheels drops a pantheon VW. It might start in the mainline, but you just know it is destined to appear everywhere else. As a Super, an RLC model, a Convention model, and in all kinds of other premium lines. It will get the attention of customizers and reemerge in a plethora of custom getups.
The T2 Pickup is the next one. Easily the most buzzworthy VW since the Kool Kombi. It has all the markings. First, it is a bus, or samba, or kombi, and if I am not mistaken, the first Type 2 T2 Hot Wheels has done since the famous Beach Bomb. (Which I forgot about in my video. Forgive me.)
Next, it is executed in perfect Hot Wheels style. Matchbox did the stock T2. Hot Wheels goes nuts on everything else. The Drag Bus is, well, a DRAG bus. The Kool Kombi can either drag cautiously, house your things at a Brazilian beach, or sell a lot of Oregon Ice Cream. And the T2 Pickup, like the T1 Panel Van, sits crazy low, with a somewhat useless bed. (Although that bed is perfect for hauling Oregon Ice Cream promotional vehicles.)
It starts what is bound to be its long Hot Wheels life in the Art Car series. While I like more realistic decos, there is a lot to appreciate about the Art Cars, and this looks good. I am sure there will be several future versions I like more, and of course I will show them, because this is an obvious completist addition to my Hot Wheels collection.
No, I would not call myself a VW collector, but I will happily join in the hoopla that is the T2 Pickup. What a cool model.
(Thanks to Mattel for the preview model, and look for it in the J Case I believe.)
Well this one won't loop the loop. It'll be interesting to work out how to raise the ride height a bit. Looking forward to finding this. Thankfully we don't have a much of a scalping mentality in the U.K.
Chris
I like this! But after seeing the deco on the golf (which I was really looking forward to but won't buy because of the deco) and the not so flattering deco here, I'm starting to think someone at Mattel is pretty angry about the diesel scandal and taking it out here. Clean diesel- my foot!
I'm all over this like a rash, I can't wait for the J case to land in the UK!
This is going to be a hit. Slight chance of topic, has any U.K. collectors spotted Batch G yet?
I like the casting, but the wheels and deco are a turn off. I will wait until it shows up in one of the premium lines. Hopefully then it will have some better detailing!
The Golf Mk. VII debut as an art car was a horrendous model. Great casting, terrible deco. This, on the other hand, kind of works. It looks like a deco someone might put on a real T2 pickup (although maybe with “Volkswagen” lettering instead of “Hot Wheels”) So I'll definitely pick this one up.
Having said that, I can't help but daydream about what a debut this could have been if they had done the deco from the recent Ford Pickup on this instead..you know, the matte grey one with the new steel wheels… Now THAT would be something.
VW collectors have a good reason to be bonkers. They are getting what they want. If HWs would give me verity I'd be bonkers too. As far as this casting beautiful. Has tons of potential for customizers. Love this!
Bet it ends up in pop culture.
Looks great, love the stance, would be nice to see a plain deco (maybe primer grey), sat on the new style steel wheels,with front/rear detailing though…looking forwards to comparing it to my favourite casting of all time which is the '70s Siku VW T2 double cab pick up…
Not crazy about the drab tan color. Would have been better if it had the headlamp and VW moniker on the front filled in with silver paint detail, like on the Kool Kombi.
Also for those that don't know, there should be a recolor that is white, blue, black and yellow coming later in the year.
I dunno when the K Case may hit stores, in few days or next week, the local store I've been buying will receive(I hope so) this case with a big delay. It's a nice model, the later white one looks slight better, although it has blue windows. Whatever version I find, it's a nice model to customize, replace the random deco with someming acording to the casting style, or normalize it.